The study of risk logics in all their lived complexity

Punishing Disease

HIV AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF SICKNESS

When: Friday, March 23, 1 to 3 PM

Where: H-1220, 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. O

Trevor Hoppe, University of Albany, State University of New York

From the very beginning of the epidemic, AIDS was linked to punishment. Calls to punish people living with HIV – mostly stigmatized minorities – began before doctors could even name the disease. Punitive attitudes towards AIDS prompted lawmakers around the country to introduce legislation aimed at criminalizing the behaviors of people living with HIV. Punishing Disease explains how this happened and with what consequences. Now that the door to criminalizing sickness is open, what other ailments will follow? With lawmakers moving to tack on additional diseases such as hepatitis and meningitis, the question is more than academic.

Discussants:

Alexander McClelland, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture Concordia University